Roll towel cabinet



Aug. 17, 1937. A. FALK ROLL TowEL CABINET 4 Sheets-Sheet l AFiled Dec.31, 1934 Aug. 17, 1937.

A, FALK ROLL TOWEL GAB INET 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Deo. 31,4 1954INVENTOR Aug. 17, 1937. A. FALK ROLL TowEL cuuisiINET Filed Dec. 31,1934 4 She'ets-Sheet 3 A. FILK ROLL TOWEL CABINET Aug. 17, 1937.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 31, 1934 HHIHHHHH l INVEM l MIME PatentedAug. 17, 1937 UNITEDSTATES PATENT oFFlcE 2,090,255 RoLL TOWEL CABINETApplication December 31, 1934, Serial No. 759,833

20 Claims.

My invention relates to a cabinet for holding a continuous or roll toweland dispensing lengths thereof to successive users.

Roll towel cabinets as heretofore constructed have embodied a pair offriction driving rolls operating upon the used and unused portions ofthe towel respectively, and effective to roll up the former as thelatter is manually pulled off the roll in which it is supplied, thefriction driving rolls being connected by a chain and sprocket drive. Aloop of the towel hangs below the cabinet at all times. These devicesare objectionable, iirst, from the standpoint of appearance, since thesoiled or used portion of the towel is 5 always visible to thesubsequent users, who must pull out a fresh supply of toweling for theirown use. Another objection is that it is very difficult toI synchronizethe friction roll drive. As a result, the length of the loop of towelhanging below the cabinet varies from a minimum, which makes itdifficult to use the towel, to a maximum,

which is very unsightly. In addition, the wearV on the moving parts,particularly the friction driving rolls, is not uniform at all points.

I have invented a roll towel cabinet which 2U overcomes theabove-mentioned objections and,

furthermore, provides a much more effective means of holding anddispensing continuous or roller towels than has been availableheretofore sol far as I am aware. In accordance with my invention, I usea single friction driving roll to operate the roll of used towel. Thispulls fresh towel from the unused roll. In addition, I provide a dooradapted to be opened by the means for operating the friction drivingroll. The door 3D is closed automatically after the section of towelexposed thereby has been used and released. Other advantagescharacterizing my invention will become apparent as the descriptionproceeds and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed outin the appended claims.

A complete understanding of the invention may be readily obtained byconsideration of the accompanying drawings read in connection with 5 thefollowing description. In the drawings, illustrating a present preferredembodiment of the invention:

Figure l is a front elevation showing my invention;

50 Figure 2 is a sectional view thereof taken on the line II-II ofFigure l;

Figure 3 is a 'front elevation with the front wall removed and parts insection; l

Figure 4 is a sectional view-taken along the 55 line IV-IV of Figure 3;

(Cl. S12- 38) Figure '7 is a sectional view similar to Figure,

2 with the parts in operated position and the towel withdrawn from thecabinet for use;

Figure 8 is a sectional view along the line VIII-VIII of Figure 3; and

Figure 9 is an elevation of the interior of a portion of the front wallof the cabinet.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, a cabinet I0 has a front wallcomposed of hinged sections II and I2 and a fixed, sloping section I3;Side walls Ill, a rear wall I5, and a suitable top and bottom completethe cabinet. The top is provided with a hinged cover I6.

n Frame side plates I'I and I8 (Figure 3) are secured within the upperpart of the, cabinet in any convenient manner. Slots I9 in the frameplates provide bearings lfor aroll 2|) on which the fresh towel,indicated at 2l, is supplied from the laundry. A plate 22 hinged to thetop of thecabinet bears on the roll 2I 'and serves as a brake to preventoverrunningf of the coil of towel when unwound by means to be describedlater.`

Notches 23 in the side frame plates I'l and I8 are provided forreceiving the roller 20 temporarily during installation and threading.

As shown .in Figure 2, the towel 2| passes downwardly of the front wallof the cabinet over a` gripper bar 24. This bar is carried on a yoke 25hinged to the side frame plates. The yoke 25 normally rests on acrossbar 25'. The gripper bar itself is covered with a suitable frictiongripping material for a purposewhich will appear later. A cooperatingfriction gripping bar 26,

similarly covered, is mounted at the bottom of a vertically sliding door 2l. The door 2l moves in guides 28 secured to the interior of theupper hinged portion II of the front wall of the cabinet. The mountingof the door 214in its guides` may best be observed in Figure 9. The door21,

when lowered, closes an opening 29 in the hinged wall-portion II. Theupper portion of the latter may conveniently be provided with a mirror30. A roller 3l is journaled in the lower edge of the opening 29 for apurpose which will become ap- A parent later. As, shown in Figure 9, thedoor 21 has a rearwardly projecting finger 32 at one side thereof; Thislinger is'adapted, when the hinged wallportion' II is closed, to entera' slot in a laterally extending plate 33 carried by Va' verticallyrecipromounted on the right-hand side wall' I4, as shown` in Figures 2,'1 and 8. An operating lever 36 on the outside of the cabinet isconnected to the" gear 35 and movement of the handlethereon turns thegear to shift the rack bar 34"'vrticall'y.

A counterbalancing rack bar 3'Iis1vertically slid'- able in guides 35xed to the riglfit-hand sid@ wall I4 adjacent the rear Wall I5.Operation of the hand lever 36 also eiectsth advancement of a freshportion vof the towel-.2 I

from the unused roll into position for access through the opening 29when the door' 2-1 is' raised to open position. 'I'he gearg35 drivesapinion-, 38. which kis lsimilarlyA Vjournaled on t the inside Dof thevright-hand Vside wall I4 o f the cabinet. Thisk pinion-meshes withapinion ,-39 which `Vis likewiseljournaled on ythe inside of-,th'ecabinet. b A 'friction-b driving roll 40 is journaled inthe side,frar'nsv I1V and I8 coaxially `with .the pinionH 39.1 y'paxxvlflllv'carried on a plate 1.42y mounted" on they pinionv 39 cooperates withjaratchet'wheel 43 `ke'yedto the frictionroll shaft 44. Slots 45.-.in 4thesideframes provide bearings for a roll46 which. the nused portion ofthetowel .indicated V*at-41` .wound. vNotches 45', similar tothos'eshown'at 23'., `provide temporary syupportsffforl the roll'46 tovfacilitate threading ofthe towel.' As willsbeapparent'fromFiguresZand'l, the roll 46 rises inthe slots 45 yas the coil ofwused towelbuilds up thereon. As shown inv Figures 2 and 7,`the continuous towel isthreadedY 40 over guide rolls 4B 'and `4.9 and around a 2roll 45 theframe.

frame 50 which is vertically slidable ohguides" I in the lower portionof the cabinet. Il'h'e roll frame 50 has pins 52 adapted to enterslot's`53 in the guides v5I. A guide rolli54 is journaled in The slots53 are vertical in "their upper portion but toward the bottom ofthefcabi-v net have a forward' inclination terminating in an enlargement54a with a stop shoulder Y55 adjacent thereto. Theguide roll v54 isjournaled'in a 50 plane rearwardly of that in which the' -axes of thepins 52 lie. Thepurpose of thisconstruction is to prevent the frame 50from rising when the friction roll 40 is operated to drive theV coil 41.It will be apparent from Figure 2 that `if torque 55 is applied to thecoil ,'41 to exert an upward pull v on the rearward run of the towel,the frame`5I1 will be raised only slightly until the lowerv pins 52engage the shoulders 55. Further rotation of the coil 41 will pull thesoiled towel around the n 60 roll 54 and cause fresh towel to beadvanced from Vthe unused portion 2| to a door 21 and the frame 50. k

` By now it will probably be apparent 'that when the lever 36 hasbeenoperated to open the door 65 `21 and advance fresh towel into aposition such thatit is available through the opening 29, the user mayseize the towel which will lthen appear as in Figure 6, and withdraw in'a loop asindicated in Figure 7, for use. Asthe loop ofk towel 70 ispulled out, theY towel is drawn over the-.roller 3I journaled in Vthe,lower Vedge/of .'thefopening y29. Withdrawal ofthe loop oftowelcausesthe frame 5|]` to rise.,- It had already, been ,explainedthatfapull on therearward runof thetowel locks 75 theframe ,againstupward movement.V` ilimilarly,

position betweeny the a pull on the front run of the towel will swingbar 26 cooperates with the bar 24 when the door `f21-1is raised, asshown in Figure '1, to frictionally 4grip -tyhe.,towel tightly andprevent more towel from being pulled fromthe unused coil 2|, as long asthe door 21 is raised. The towel is engaged between the bars 26 and 24before the "door has 'reached the upper limit of its move? ment. The bar24 then moves upwardly a short distance with the bar 26, the towel beinggripped therebetween. Since these gripping bars are not effective untilthe door is fully raised, I provide a collapsible grille 56, (Figure 9)`which isI adapted temporarily to bar accessyto thetowel, as shown inFigure 5. The grille 56is` extended by means of a hoolrV 511 pivotedtothe door 21 and adapted tol engage the top bar ofthe grille. "lheYgrille is thus extendedv as the door is raised. A cam platea58 .(Figures2 and 7) on the side frame IIl` cooperates-with the.` upper portion '-ofthe hook 51 to trip the latter and release the grille when the door 21has reached 'its uppermostposition in which the -towel is tightlygripped between,.the`

bars 24 and 26.

The door 21 is aisebrnvided with yafhdwligg lug 59 (Figure 9). The meansfonengagingthis lug to hold the door ingelevated position during, use ofthe towel will be described shortly. The upper edgeofbthe door 21isadapted to engage behind a finger 6D xed to the'hinged section II'(Figure 3) to prevent opening of the latter when the door21 is .raisedand the 4lever 36 inltheboperated (i. e., not thenorm-al)position. Thepurpose of this-will be explained later.

The door21 also has a lock bar- 6I cooperating with a slot 62 in theright-hand guide-.28, as viewed inV Figure .9.kr By advancing thevbarglbefore closingthe upper hingedY portion I I of the front wall, furtheroperation of the device is prevented. This is useful in caseit isdesirable,Y

for any reason, to suspend operation of the de@` vice.

the gear 35.

pawl 63 rides over the gear teeth. It is thus im#V possible to reversethe gear 35 until a full angular movementthereo has been made. At thattime, a cam 64 on the gear 35 raises the pawl 63 which isr then latchedby a pvoted detent 65. The gear35 is thus freed for On completion of thelatter, a finger 66 also secured tothe gear 35 actuates the detent 65 torelease the pawl 63. 1 As the door21 isvraised, the holding lug5.9.displaces and slips past a detent:61,(fligure 4) piv-l oted .onthegvijnside ofthe left-hand"side-.wall- I 4 of the cabinet'. The door21isthus held in elevated positionffuntil the detent61 is withdrawn.

The deten-t 61 has a rearward extension .163.adaptf t reverse movement.

50 Reverting to the drive mechanism for advanced to cooperate with acooperating detent69 pivoted on a :channel-shaped slide 'lll throughwhich the upper left-hand pin 52 of the framev The upper end of theslide'l Aworksy 55B projects. in a guide channel 1l. When the loop oftowel spulIed out, it causes the frame 50 to rise. On upward movement ofthe frame, the de:- tent 69 is displaced by the rearward extension BS ofthe detent 6l. On downward movement of the` frame 5B, resulting from therelease of the loop of towel, the detent 69 engages the rearwardextension 68 and trips the detent, Bl from beneath the holding lug 59whereby the doc-r 2l is released and permitted to drop. A pull knob "i2is connected to the rearward extension 68 to permit manual operation ofthe detentz'l under certain circumstances to be mentioned later.

The operation of exchanging used towels fo-r fresh onesv is relative-lysimple. When the end ofthe towel is unw-ound from the coil 2i, andpasses beyond the gripper bar 2t, it obviously can bepulled out of theopening 29. The frame 5@ thus may or may not be raised Iby the user ofthe last end of the roll. If not, the door 2l? will remain open and thelever 36 in operated position. If this happens, the attendant will rsthave to open the lower hinged portion l2 ofthe front wall and pull downon the knob' l2 to close the door 2l' because, as above stated, 'theupper hinged portion li is locked by the engagement of the upper edge ofthe door behind the locking finger 853 when raised. When the door 21 hasthus been closed, the lever 3E and the rack bar 3! then return to theirpositions illustrated in Figure 8. This is a safeguard against theoperator changing towels and closing the machine up ready for use withthe lever 36 in operated position. If this were done, the iinger 32would not enter the slot in the plate 33 when the hinged portion il ofthe front wall is closed and the door 2l would not be operated onsubsequent Vrestoration of the lever to starting position andadvancement therefrom. While the drive would operate to feed freshtowel, the door 2l would not open to permit access thereto.

By lifting the coil 41 of soiled toweling out of the slots l5 andplacing it temporarily in the notches 45', the last few feet of usedtowel can be rolled on the coil and the latter then removed, the upperhinged wall-portion Il having been unlocked and opened. The roll 2Q maythen be placed in the notches and a coil of fresh towel on its roll isthen temporarily supported on hinged arms i3 having notches in theirends, which may be swung outwardly as shown in Figure 'Z after openingthe wall-portion il. Towel is then threaded under the guide roll 43 andover the roll i9 and around the roll 54 of the frame 5B. The end of thetowel is then pulled up behind the front run and started around the rollplaced in the notches i5. When the roll has been started, it is movedbalckwardly and downwardly in the slots l5 until it is engaged by thefriction driving roll fill. The yoke 25 and the plate 22 may then beswung upwardly and the roll having the coil of fresh towel thereondeposited with its ends in the slots I9. The device is then ready foroperation on closing the hinged wall portions l and l2, providingthatthe lever 3S is in the illustrated position whenv the wall portion lI is closed; As explained above, this is effected automatically since itis neces'- sary to close the door 2l' before the wall-portion l! can beopened and the closing ofthe door 2l restores the lever 36 totheillustrated position. AA nger hole 'U5 in the'side frame plate I8facilitates the manual disengagement lof'the pawl 4l from the ratchetwheel so that the frictiony driving roll 4f! can be manually turned tostart the leading end of the fresh towel on its roll. This' operation ofthe pawlndisconnects thel friction driving roll from the drive mechanismnormally employed including the lever 36 and associated gearing.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description thatthe inventionprovides agreatimprovement over towel cabinets known heretofore since itincludes means for dispensing precisely a predetermined length of towelon each operation of the handle and always maintains the used towelconcealed. The fresh towel is locked against excessive withdrawal whenthe door is open and access to the towel is prevented until the door isfully opened. Pumping of the towel is prevented. TheA exchange of freshtowels for soiled ones is relatively simple. The entire structure,`furtherf more, is simple in arrangement and relatively inexpensive tomanufacture;` The simplicity of the structure also contributes to easymaintenance. The apparatus may be embodied, as shown herein, in acabinet adapted for; wall mounting or may equallywellbe disposed in'acabinet adapted to stand on the floor. Suitablershock absorbers for themoving parts may be use-d to limit the noise and jar so that vthedevicelis adapted for use in all locations even those such as hospitalswhere noise is objectionable; Onoperatingi'the device only fresh towelis exposed. yThe door which opens to expose the towel is locked in theopen position until the towel has been pulled out and releasedv so thateven if the door should beopened and the towel unused, only fresh towelwould be visible. Pulling out thetowel to .any extent will cause thedoor to be closed when the towel is released. Only one friction drivingroller. is employed and chain drives are eliminated. f The frictiondrive roll, as well as the gripper bars, may be covered with abrasivecloth, rubber or other suitable frictional material. The invention isreadily adapted to coin-controlled operation but the specific type ofcoin-controlled release is largely a matter of choice and is, therefore,not described herein. The cabinet is economical in the use of towelbecause only a predetermined amount can be advanced on one operation ofthe lever.

Although I have illustrated and described herein only one form of theinvention, it will be apparent that numerous changes in the describedembodiment may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim: y

1. In a towel cabinet, means for supporting a coil of fresh towel, meansfor winding up the towel as used, vertically reciprocablemeans formaintaining a loop of towel of predetermined length therebetween, andmeans effective to prevent movement of said second-mentioned means onlywhen the loop is tautened in response to operation of saidfirst-mentioned means and not when the loop is pulled by a user.

2. In a towel cabinet, means for supporting a coil of fresh towel, meansfor Winding up` the towel as used, movable means for maintaining a loopof towel of predetermined length therebetween, saidsecond-mentionedmeans being movable by apuil on the towel extending therefrom'to thefresh coil to Afeed a portion of the towel for use, and meanspreventingmovefnent of said secondmentioned means when the towelextending from the loop to the winding up meansis tautened in responseto operation of the latter.

3. In a towel cabinet, an opening through which a towel is accessible,manually operable means for 5 advancing towel from a fresh coil thereof'past said opening, means normally closing said opening and preventingaccess to the towel, means operable by said first mentioned means tooperate said acv cess preventing means and provide access tothe towel,means on saidsecond mentioned means effective on complete operation ofthe latter to grip the towel extending from the fresh coll thereof toprevent manual unwinding thereof, and

additional means for barring access to the towelv until the secondmentioned means has operated completely and said towel gripping means iseffective.

4. The apparatus defined `by claim 3 lcharacterized by means forrendering said access barring meansineffective when Vthe means normallyclosing the opening'has been fully operated.

5. In a towel cabinet, thecombination with means for rotatablysupporting a coil of .fresh towel, a coiling roll on which used towelmaybe 251 coiled, means for feeding fresh towel and coiling used towelincluding only a single friction driving roll engaging the towel coiledon said coiling roll, of manuallyactuablemeans for operating saidfriction roll, means for maintainingl said coil and roll, and meanswhereby rotationy of said friction driving roll solely and exclusivelytensions said loop throughout its entire length and pulls towel fromsaidcoil around said lastmentioned means.

6. In a towel cabinet,'the combination with means for supporting a coilof fresh towel adapted to'be made available for use in a loop ofpredetermined length, a roll for winding up the towel 40 as used,manually operable means independent of the towel effective to drive theroll to wind up used towel, vertically movable means-for maintainingsaid loop of toweling of predetermined length between said coil andsaidwind-up means,

means for preventing movement of said movable means whereby rotation ofsaid roll places the loop under tension throughout and pulls fresh towelfromV the coil, and'means responsive to a pull on the portion of: thetowel extending toward the coil of fresh towel, for rendering saidmovement-preventing means ineffective.

7. .In a towel cabinet, the combination withan opening, a closuretherefor precluding access to the towel in the cabinet, manuallyoperable means independent of the' towel for drawing towel from a coilthereof past the opening, and opening the closure to expose the towel tobe pulledout and used, means forflocking the closure in open position,and means operable o n release of the towel 6.0 for operating thelast-mentionedmeans torelease the closure and permit it t-o close saidopening.

8. The apparatus defined by claim '7 character-- ized by means forgripping the towel to prevent it 65 from being pulled offthe fresh coil.Y

9. The apparatus definedfby claim ''charac-l terized by means forpreventing used towelfrom being pulled back from said drawing means.`

10. In a towel cabinet, an opening through 70 which the towel Visaccessible, means including al meanszand affordv access to the towel,and means independent of the towel advancing means for holding inoperated position the means normally closing said opening.

11. In a' towel cabinet, an opening through 5l which the towel isaccessible, means for advancing fresh towel from a coil thereof pastsaid opening, a door normally closing said opening and preventing accessto the towel, means operable with said first mentioned means to operatesaid 10 door to expose the towel, means for holding the door in openposition, said holding means being operable by withdrawal of the towelfrom the' cabinet and release thereof, for causing the release of saidvdoor whereupon it returns to its l5l initial position.

12. In a `towel cabinet, a door normally barring access to the towel, anopening normally closed by the door through which the towel isaccessible,

and means including a member accessible on the 20* exterior of thecabinet and operable by a user, for opening said door and drawing freshtowel from a coil toward said door so as to be accessible therethrough,and means operated by the door for holding the door in open position topermit and means including a member accessible on the 30" exterior ofthe cabinet and operable by a user for opening said door and drawingfresh towel from a coil toward said door so as to be accessibletherethrough, means independent of said openingv means for holding thedoor in open position to 3 permit access to the towel, means fornormally maintaining a loop of towel adjacent said opening, and meansmoving with said loop-maintaining means and effective on release of thetowel to render inoperative the door holding means. 40

14. In a towel cabinet, a door normally barring access to the towel, anopening normally closed` by the door through which the towel isaccessible, and means including a memberaccesslble on the exterior ofthe cabinet, operable by a user, and 45 including a wind-up roll forused towel, for opening said door and drawing fresh towel from acoiltoward said door so as to be accessible therethrough, meansk formaintaining a loop of towel adjacent said door, and means for lockingsaid 50 last-mentioned means against operation by the driving torqueexerted on said wind-up roll.

15. A towel dispenser comprising a support for a coil of fresh towel,means for gathering the towel as used, retractibley means formaintaining 55 a loop between the fresh and used towel, meansfrictionally engaging the used towel and effective to pull fresh towelfrom the coil thereof by tension thereon when said loop is maintained bysaid retractible means, a manually operable drive for said frictionallyengaging means, means for preventing retraction of the loop-maintainingmeans, and means responsive to a pull on the portion of the loopextending toward the coil of fresh towel to render ineffective saidretraction-preventing means.

v16. In a towel cabinet, means therein for supporting a coil of freshtowel, an opening in the cabinet through which the towel is accessibleto a user, a door normally closing said opening, means including amember manually operable from the exterior of the cabinet, for drawingfresh towel from said coil past said opening and operating said door toexpose the towel, and means includingmeans .operatedwith said door forlocking the fresh towel against further uncoiling thereof from saidcoil.

17. In a towel cabinet, means therein for supporting a coil of freshtowel, an opening in the cabinet through which the towel is accessibleto a user, a sliding door normally closing said opening, means includinga member manually operable from the exterior of the cabinet, for drawingfresh towel from said coil past said opening and sliding said door backto expose the towel, and means including means operated with said doorfor holding the fresh towel against further uncoiling thereof from saidcoil.

18. In a towel cabinet, means therein for supporting a coil of freshtowel, an opening in the cabinet through which the towel is accessibleto a user, a door normally closing said opening, means including amember manually operable from the exterior of the cabinet, for drawingfresh towel from said coil past said opening and operating said door toexpose the towel, a friction gripping bar on said door, and fixed meanscooperating therewith when the door is open for holding the fresh towelagainst further uncoiling thereof from said coil.

19. In a towel cabinet, means therein for supporting a coil of freshtowel, an opening in the cabinet through which the towel is accessibleto a user, a door normally closing said opening, means including amember manually operable from the exterior of the cabinet, for drawingfresh towel from said coil past said opening and operating said door` toexpose the towel, and a friction gripping bar on said door, a relativelyfixed friction gripping bar adapted to cooperate with that on the doorwhen the door is opened and seize the towel between them to preventfurther uncoiling of fresh towel from the coil.

20. In a towel cabinet, means therein for supporting a coil of freshtowel, an opening in the cabinet through which the towel is accessibleto a user, a sliding door normally closing said opening, means includinga manually operable member for raising said door and drawing fresh towelfrom said coil past said opening, a gripper carried on said door and arelatively fixed gripper in said cabinet adapted to cooperate with saidfirst mentioned gripper when the door is raised, to prevent furtheruncoiling of fresh towel from the coil.

ANDREW FALK.

